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Welcome to 2023

It seems like people are saying that New Year’s Resolutions and finding “a word for the year” are OUT.

But y’all! New Year’s is my favorite holiday for this very reason! (And that it’s my anniversary – love you, honey!)

I LOVE getting re-focused and defining my hopes and plans for the year. Am I going to do all the things I plan on every single day? Nope! Am I going to mess up along the way? Yes! But as I look forward to 2023, I know in my heart that God wants my face resolutely pointed in a certain direction. Ultimately, that direction is towards Him!

My resolutions this year are almost entirely about this one particular feature of mine that gets me in a lot of trouble…maybe you can relate:

My mouth.

Ugh.

So, number one-

By God’s grace, I will try to be mindful in my words and responses, especially in the area of not complaining or arguing. I’m going to apologize if I realize I was arguing or complaining. I want to really think before I respond, correct, or say anything at all. This is mostly in regard to my husband and kids, but also in regard to my not-thinking-through-my-quick-yeses-on-text. I will grow with the Holy Spirit’s help to be quicker to listen, slower to speak, and slower to anger.

Number two-

You guessed it. Again, by God’s grace, I want to eat in a way that is grateful, peaceful, and glorifying to God. I want to keep food in its rightful place, and enjoy it but steward my body well. In particular, I want to change my habits regarding sweets. I’m starting out the year with a sugar fast in preparation (physically and spiritually) for my trip to Ethiopia, and after that, I will likely have a moderate amount on the weekends unless I can just continue on with the fast (which would be ideal). When I say by God’s grace, I mean it. Sweets are the comfort of choice for me, and I know I take it too far sometimes.

So, since nothing changes unless you make a change, what do you resolve to focus a little more on this year?

Are you at a crossroads? I honestly think we all are. There are decisions to make: To either sense God is having you stay put and stay on task with joy, or to sense that He is refining you by some new means! Both require His power, His guidance, His presence, and OUR listening, obedient hearts.

What do you most need? What is your greatest frustration?

These things can change or at least your part in them, or your perspective of them, can.

Lord,

We end the holiday season today and we’ve been reminded that Your light has come, but we still live in this dark world with lots of worries and even our homes, bodies, minds, and churches don’t always feel like safe places. Jesus, abide with us! Draw us and our loved ones so near to You, like never before, because if You do not draw us, we will not come. All of our hope is in You and Your strong love that chases us all the days of our lives. Help us to seek You and TRUST Your Word, Your actions, Your plan.

Amen.

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Top Ten List: Practices I Promise You Won’t Regret Starting This Year

As we start off the New Year, I’m thinking about some habits and choices that  I want to do or already have done in years past — choices that have the power to really enhance my relationships and life for the better! I want to share ten of these practices in the form of one of my very favorite things: A LIST!

  1. Sponsor a child or sign up for monthly giving! I highly recommend the following ministries: worldvision.org, compassion.com, empowerhaititogether.org, embracinghopeethiopia.com, lifesongfororphans.org, ijm.org, and persecution.com
  2. Work to memorize Scripture! Aim for one chapter or one really meaningful passage, or verses about a particular issue with which you struggle.
  3. Ask God whom to put on a daily prayer list. As you pray for them, send a card sometimes to encourage or at the end of the year, let them know you prayed for them all year!
  4. Read aloud a devotional or inspirational biography at dinner or bedtime or before school at least once a week as a family.
  5. Make a change in your diet, even if it is to only add one beneficial food and remove one harmful food for the year. And can I squeeze into #5 to exercise at least 15-30 minutes per day?
  6. Put on your calendar a quarterly, if not monthly, ladies’ night/men’s night or coffee date with a friend! No one is going to do this for you; make it happen!
  7. Plan 12 dates with your spouse if you are married. Even if they are “couch dates”, write down the ideas and put them in a jar to pull out or put on your calendar once a month. Get the sitter a month in advance. We can do this, y’all! When we are old, we’ll be sorry that we didn’t…It’s good for the kids to see us date, too!
  8. Live in community, inter-generationally! Seek out relationships with older and younger people; write down the story and advice of at least one older person this year and seek to serve them this year.
  9. Pow-Wow! Give the closest people in your life a chance to share their heart daily, in two categories. Ask them what was great about their day, and listen (this is their Wow!) Ask them what was difficult and what they’d like to sort through, and listen (this is their Pow!) You can do this with friends, roommates, spouses, and definitely kids and teens. I do this as I put my kids to bed each night and if I “forget”, they do not. 😉
  10. Plan a day or weekend anywhere from 2 to 12 times a year where you get away from people and re-think schedules, goals, relationships, health, etc. Read, watch inspiring movies, be quiet, journal, be in nature, and let God renew your mind, heart, soul, and strength in solitude.

We are responsible to take care of ourselves (mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually)…our immediate family, our marriages, our kids that won’t be kids for long…the least of these among us, close by and around the world…the elderly…but we get busy and sometimes just live on autopilot! Whatever your choices are this year, let them be YOUR CHOICES. Whatever you spend your time on, whatever you commit yourself to do, let it be thought out and deliberate. What you decide today is a little bit who you are tomorrow. 🙂